The present invention relates to mobiles and crib toys for the amusement of infants, and more particularly concerns an infant Ferris wheel responsive to certain ambient sounds or movements. The system of the present invention includes a vertically suspended rotatable disk, said disk being rotatable responsive to the detection of ambient sound and/or movement, means for decoratively illuminating a portion of said disk, and a sound producing means likewise responsive to the detection of ambient sound and/or movement. The infant Ferris wheel of the present invention is further attachable to a baby crib, and includes means for standing and operating independent of any structural support.
Many mobile type devices and crib toys have been proposed for the amusement of infants. These have typically included means for suspending a plurality of fanciful toys and trinkets under a canopy which is further affixed to the side of a baby crib high enough above the infant to keep out of said infant's reach, and have further included means for rotating said toys and trinkets about an axis of the canopy. More recent versions of these type devices have included means for making a musical melody, and means for illuminating an area adjacent to said device. Although such devices are well known in the art, none achieve the advantages of the present invention.
Examples of such prior art crib toy devices include that taught in U.S. Pat. No. 3,983,647 by Stubbmann, in which is proposed a driven mobile having a plurality of attention getting objects attached to a plurality of rigid arms extending from a shaft which is rotated by a magnetic driving mechanism, and further includes means for providing an audio signal. The teaching of Stubbmann further proposes means for canting the mobile at an unusual angle from the top of the baby crib to which it is attached for more readlly being viewed by the infant. The driving mechanism of this device was designed for allowing the mobile to be driven without attention for an extended period of time. Perhaps the most significant of the several advantages of the present invention which are not achieved by the teaching of Stubbmann is the need for intermittent attention to the mobile by an attendant of the infant for whom the mobile is designed. A second concern which safety conscious parents may have regarding the teaching of Stubbmann relates to the readily accessible rigid arms of the mobile. Although said arms may be inaccessible to the young infant, the ready accessibility of said arms to an older sibling or to the older infant would be a matter of increasing concern.
Another example of a crib toy of the prior art which includes means for providing music can be found in the teaching of Hyman et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 4,363,181. In this teaching is provided a rotatable mobile having objects suspended from a canopy attached to a side of the crib. Included with the mobile is a motor and a music producing control circuit which further controls the length of the time periods in which said motor rotates and said music is played. Although the time periods in which this mobile is operable may be selectively varied, said time periods are responsive only to an attendant who is required to set said time periods. The mobile of this teaching is not responsive to the infant for whom it is intended to amuse. Furthermore, like so many of the mobiles and crib toys of the prior art, the suspended objects of this teaching have to be hung out of the reach of the infant for whom said objects are intended. Although the suspended objects of Hyman's teaching might indeed be visible to the infant, that said objects can only be observed at such a distance prevents the mobile devices of this type from accomplishing a significant objective of the present invention.
Examples of the prior art which attempt to overcome the necessity of requiring the attention of someone other than the infant in order for a crib toy to be placed in an operable mode, can be found in the teachings of Zisholtz and Anderson in the U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,640,034 and 4,984,380, respectively. In the teaching of Zisholtz is provided a sound producing mobile for connecting to a crib having a releasibly secured audio cassette player and a motor for rotating a plurality of suspended decorative mobile elements. Further included in this teaching is a voice actuated switch for operating the motor and audio cassette player responsive to the detection of ambient sound. In the teaching of Anderson is provided a fairly complex motor driven crib mobile suspended with an array of light and music producing means from the base of a passive infrared motion sensor activated lighting unit similar to those used in home security systems. The multitude of operable components provided in this teaching are responsive to the motion of an infant in the crib. Although these teachings provide devices which are responsive to both an older attendant and the infant for whom they are intended, each has the disadvantage of a singular dependance upon either a sound-, or a motion-, detection sensor. Those familiar with behavior modification based learning paradigms will recognize that being able to "manipulate" only a singular response of a subject, such as the subject's movement or noise, is significantly limiting. In this perspective, it is highly probable that there will be users of either of these two devices which have difficulty in diminishing a negative behavior (such as crying loudly) which one of the mobiles of these teachings has actually taught the infant. Furthermore, both devices of these teachings are designed for being viewed by the infant at a distance beyond said infant's reach.
While the mobile type devices and crib toys so disclosed in the prior art may be suitable for a particular purpose to which they address, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that said devices would not be as suitable for the purposes of the present invention.